A/N: Alright people, here's the second chapter, not that any of you actually read the first one… Anyway, my chapters switch points of view, and this is Noranam's chapter. It will switch back and forth between the 4 main characters. The first is George, the second Noranam, the third Amalalith, and the fourth Nali.

So, here goes…

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Chapter 2: Noranam

Where was that blasted pot? She knew she'd left it around here somewhere. Mayhap it was in the cabinet… She bustled into the adjoined room and found herself being grabbed into a dark corner and locked inside a firm grasp.

"Nali!" she cried, forgetting about the pot as she looked up into a most welcomed face. "You surprised me!" She was immediately swept up into a round of kisses. Pushing away, she asked, "What are you doing here?" The girl looked at the boy in front of her, dressed in a light cotton shirt and short tan breeches that accented his dark toned skin. Were his eyes always that red? she thought. His normally dark green eyes were red and the skin around them discolered and blotchy. Now that she looked, his whole face was like that.

"I've been sent to get a pot for mixing herbs for-" He was cut off by a fit of coughing that made him bend over in pain.

Oh, yes, that what she'd been looking for… "It looks like you're going to need some of those herbs yourself," she retorted gently taking down the pot and rubbing his back with her free hand. She knew he'd put up resistance, and she was prepared. She herself didn't have to worry about being sick. She never had been and never would be; a healer at heart, she was, and grateful for it.

"Oh, well, I have been feeling quite dizzy these past days… I guess I'll go get myself checked, huh?"

Nali, willingly going to a healer? "Well, that does it. You're very ill without question."

"No," said the tall boy as he rubbed his face, "I really have been feeling nauseous. I haven't eaten for days."

"Well, there's your problem. Now, get out of here before you're late!" she commanded, thrusting the large iron pot at him. In a more gentle voice she added, "I'll visit you after my duties, alright?"

Nali strained a smile. "I'll pine for you in my chambers."

Very funny, she thought as he kissed her goodbye. She watched him walk out the door, and immediately snapped back to her tasks. The dishes next. She went to a sink full of hot soapy water and slid the large pile of dishes.

She hoped Nali would get better soon; it was almost time for the annual ball. Still, It was kind of strange, the way he'd given in like that without a fight. Normally she had to drag him down to Minaman, the palace's main healer.

She stared into the soap bubbles, turning the thought over in her mind, and as she did, the bubbles began moving around and taking the shape of a picture. Puzzled, she watched the bubbles form the face of a man with a long beard and drooping mustache, square glasses resting on his beak of a nose. The soap bubble man opened his mouth, shaping the name "Noranam." My name, she thought, and blinked. When she opened her eyes, the man was gone, and she was again staring into a sink filled with soapy water.

"Strange," she muttered to herself, and continued on with her chores. The sooner she finished the sooner she could check on Nali.